The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 497 Blood and Iron (1)

Boom

An explosion rocked the forest, shaking the trees and the ground.

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”Fuck you, brute! Eat my hammer!” Daniel screamed as he dashed at the three-meter-tall elephant, its diamond-like body radiating a chilling ice aura.

”World-Breaking Hammer!” Daniel roared, leaping six meters into the air. His hammer enlarged mid-flight before crashing down with immense force onto the elephantʼs body.

Instead of being smashed into a pulp, the elephant was merely pushed back three meters, while Daniel was sent flying twenty meters away.

His face was streaked with blood, and his armor was torn in several places.

”Are you okay?” Kay called out, losing a volley of fire arrows at another elephant, this one exuding a sinister aura of darkness.

”I am fine,” Daniel said before charging again at the Elephant with the ice element where Anna was doing her best to hold back with her Ice Rhinos and now an Ice Lion.

Kay got back to raining flame arrows on the other elephant with the Darkness Element.

The presence of this dark-element elephant was particularly menacing, as its diamond body shimmered ominously under the dark energy.

Yet, Kayʼs arrows kept it at bay, preventing it from advancing further.

The battlefield was littered with the bodies of dead monsters and half-beasts, a grim testament to the terrifying battle that had unfolded there.

For now, the only remaining adversaries were the [Diamond Body Brute Elephants], a special race of monsters. They are locked in combat with Klausʼs team, who seem to be holding on by a thread—Klaus included.

They are all injured in different places.

Youʼre probably wondering how they ended up in this situation. Donʼt worry; Iʼll tell you.

It all began seven days ago after Mark, Danny, Kay, and Kilian teamed up to kill the Dark Horn Panther.

Klausʼs team went after their next team mission: obtaining three tusks from Tier 8 Diamond Body Brute Elephants.

That, of course, was the plan. They were only required to kill two Tier 8 Diamond Body Brute Elephants and extract their tusks.

However, things took a turn when, while searching for the Brutes, they stumbled upon rare information from a half-beast on the brink of death.

Kathy recognized the beast, and after a brief discussion, she extracted the information from him just before he passed away.

This forced Klaus and his team to alter their plans.

The new strategy was for each member to complete their individual missions first. Klaus deemed the information they had received from the irritating half-beast monkey to be of greater importance.

Thus, they shifted focus. Danny, Daniel, and Lily were the first to tackle their tasks, which required them to hunt ice-type monsters and extract their cores.

After a day of relentless effort, the three killed Tier 7 ice-type monsters single-handedly. The battles were grueling, and they would have failed if left to face them alone.

Fortunately, Klaus was there to guide them, offering strategic instructions that turned the tide and ensured their victories.

Anna, Daniel, Kay, and Mark were the second group to go the next day, dedicating an entire day to hunting down their respective targets.

Daniel and Kay were tasked with hunting Tier 7 fire-type monsters to extract their cores. Anna and Mark, on the other hand, chose the same mission, which required them to extract the legs of Poison Scorpion Spiders.

Klaus used 5% of his aura to suppress the monsters for their battle, enabling Anna and Mark to bring them down after a prolonged and intense fight.

Thankfully, they emerged victorious.

Mark had taken on two missions, each requiring him to extract two legs, while Anna successfully extracted six legs. Luckily, the spider had six legs to spare, leaving Mark with extras to sell for some celestial points.

On the third day, Hanna set out for her mission. She completed her battles with relative ease thanks to Kathy, her beast companion.

Hanna was tasked to hunt Tier 7 monsters, but with a Tier 8 beast companion boasting overpowered stats, the battles were straightforward for her.

Klaus followed next, spending two days personally hunting five Tier 8 monsters. Four of them fell quickly and easily, but when he encountered the fifth, an earth-elemental monster, he had to bring out all his strength.

After a grueling 50-minute fight, the mighty Klaus finally brought down the Tier 8 monster Earth Bear.

The feat left him and his friends awestruck, serving as a stark reminder that not all books can be judged by their covers.

He could kill a Tier 8 Purple Tail Lion in under 10 minutes but struggled for 50 minutes before finally defeating an Earth Bear.

At that moment, they realized just how challenging their team mission would be. It was going to be far more difficult than they had anticipated.

Tier 8 Diamond Body Brute Elephants are monsters, most of which are Earth-type. However, even a Level 5 Tier 8 Diamond Body Brute Elephant could contend with a Peak Tier 9 Earth Bear.

Klaus and his pals knew they were in for an exceptionally dangerous battle. Nevertheless, they had to set their fears aside and follow up on the information they had received.

That was why, on the sixth day, Klaus and his friends moved westward. According to the Annoying Monkeyʼs intel, a Tier 9 beast had discovered a Phoenix Flamefruit plant and a fierce battle was already underway.

Although they might arrive late to the scene, Kathy reminded Klaus that whenever a plant of that caliber appeared, it would take seven days before anyone could safely approach it.

Because of this, they decided to complete their individual missions first, hoping to get lucky before starting their team missions.

The Phoenix Flamefruit is an incredibly rare fruit with overwhelming abilities. According to the academy tracker, it grants a single life revival upon death if consumed within 24 hours before the event.

Additionally, if a fire-element user consumes it, their chances of awakening their fire element rise to 99%. Even being near the fruit significantly speeds up healing.

A Sage and others can also consume it.

While that was impressive enough, their greed surfaced when they saw the price of a single Phoenix Flamefruit.

One fruit cost ten million Celestial Points. Because of this, Klaus and his friends decided to pursue it. Through true blood and iron, they were determined to claim the plant—full of priceless fruit.

Unfortunately for them, Klausʼs bad Karma was so bad that they indeed saw the plant with over a dozen Phoenix Flamefruit hanging on its branch when they arrived.

But things didnʼt go as planned.

A battle between monsters and beasts was also underway, with hundreds of dead monsters and beasts. Klaus used the Void Piercing Needles to control the battle, and after 5 hours, the last monster fell.

Klausʼs 7th core was also formed.

Then, on the 7th day, when the barrier came down, they moved forward, but that was when their nightmare began.

It appeared they werenʼt the only ones hiding in wait for the barrier to come down.

A Tier 9 Diamond Body Brute Elephant with the Earth Element was hiding his force in the ground. So when Klaus and his pals made their move, they also appeared.

To save his friends, Klaus immediately used the Demon Killing Circle to trap the Tier 9 beast and two Peak Tier 8 Diamond Body Brute Elephant Beast.

Thus, the battle for survival and who gets to take the Phoenix Flamefruit began.